Art Linares endorsed by Chris Christie for treasurer

FILE - In this Nov. 29, 2017 file photo, New Jersey. Gov. Chris Christie speaks during a news conference at the Integrity House drug addiction rehabilitation center in Newark, N.J. Christie has a book coming out next year and he doesnt plan on holding back. Hachette Books told The Associated Press on Wednesday, July 18, 2018, that the former New Jersey governors Let Me Finish is scheduled for next Jan. 29. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File) less

FILE - In this Nov. 29, 2017 file photo, New Jersey. Gov. Chris Christie speaks during a news conference at the Integrity House drug addiction rehabilitation center in Newark, N.J. Christie has a book coming ... more

Photo: Julio Cortez / Associated Press

Photo: Julio Cortez / Associated Press

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FILE - In this Nov. 29, 2017 file photo, New Jersey. Gov. Chris Christie speaks during a news conference at the Integrity House drug addiction rehabilitation center in Newark, N.J. Christie has a book coming out next year and he doesnt plan on holding back. Hachette Books told The Associated Press on Wednesday, July 18, 2018, that the former New Jersey governors Let Me Finish is scheduled for next Jan. 29. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File) less

FILE - In this Nov. 29, 2017 file photo, New Jersey. Gov. Chris Christie speaks during a news conference at the Integrity House drug addiction rehabilitation center in Newark, N.J. Christie has a book coming ... more

Photo: Julio Cortez / Associated Press

Art Linares endorsed by Chris Christie for treasurer

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Chris Christie, one-time presidential candidate and former governor of New Jersey, endorsed Republican Art Linares for state treasurer of Connecticut Thursday.

“Linares is a rising star in our Party who has the right experience and plan to deliver reform, returns and results for hardworking taxpayers as Connecticut’s next State Treasurer,” Christie said in a statement.

After eight years, Christie left his governorship in January with the lowest recorded approval rating of any governor in New Jersey and among the least popular governors in the U.S. In 2016, Christie, who endorsed then-candidate Donald Trump after ending his own candidacy, received a short appointment to Trump’s transition team, but was soon replaced.

Linares volunteered for and supported Christie’s presidential campaign, thereby getting to know Christie and his team, said Jon Conradi, a spokesman for Linares’s campaign. Christie applauded Linares’s record as a businessman, founding a solar company Greenskies, and as a state senator for Westbrook.

“The grandson of Cuban exiles who fled Communism to find freedom in the United States, Art Linares cares deeply about the values that make our nation great and his story embodies the American Dream,” Christie said.

Linares said he was “humbled to have the support of such an important leader of the Republican Party who has answered the call to support Connecticut Republicans many times in the past and who knows how to win in a blue state.”